Lebanon - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Lebanon

Lebanon

July 3, 2026

Beirut 9:21 pm

25°C

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

The court stands at the start of the first hearing at the International Court of Justice in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, in the Hague on January 12, 2026. The Gambia filed the genocide case in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2019. Myanmar's military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in a bid to destroy the community, Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the International Court of Justice Mond

Explainer

Does provision 13 of Lebanon-Israel deal bar Beirut from pursuing war crimes claims?

Part of the Israeli-Lebanese agreement has led to calls for Beirut to grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in Lebanon or sign the Rome Treaty to allow prosecutions.

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting.

An activist takes part in a demonstration against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in the Lebanese capital Beirut on December 7, 2019. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

The man seen violently beating a woman at a restaurant has been arrested, but the incident has reignited debate over domestic violence amid warnings that such abuse can increase during periods of war.

Latest News

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

Lebanese army soldiers are deployed as part of a new security plan for the city, in the Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, April 1, 2014. Fighting between Tripoli's Sunni Muslims and members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has killed at least 28 people over the last two weeks. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR3JGBK

Lebanese interior minister warns of 'death triangle'

The Islamic State is taking refuge within Lebanon’s borders, where the group appears to be taking advantage of impoverished Lebanese citizens to execute suicide bombings.

The Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen is seen through a bullet hole in the window of an apartment in the Sunni Mankoubin district in Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli on August 25, 2012, following clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the city, stoking fears of a spillover of bloodshed. AFP PHOTO / ANWAR AMRO (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Poor Tripoli district becomes hotbed for extremists

Mankoubin is one of the impoverished neighborhoods of Tripoli, producing youths who have joined such extremist groups as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State and have carried out attacks in Syria and Iraq, as well as in Lebanon.

A general view shows Roumieh prison, in Roumieh January 12, 2015. Lebanese forces stormed the country's largest prison on Monday where Islamist militants are detained, security sources said, as authorities searched for those behind a double suicide attack at the weekend. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk headed to Roumieh prison east of Beirut early on Monday and told Reuters the crackdown came after intelligence showed some of the inmates were connected to the bombings, which killed eight. REUTERS/Mohamed A

Arsal kidnappers break silence, contact Lebanese mediator

After a 36-hour silence following the storming of Roumieh prison, the Arsal terrorists holding Lebanese soldiers resumed contact with the government's mediator.

Syrians stand in a queue to get a visa stamp entering Lebanon town during their arrival at the Lebanese Masna'a border point in eastern Bekaa of Lebanon January 22, 2013.
REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3CSRV

Lebanese visa regulations cause more distress for Syrians

The announcement of new regulations requiring Syrians to obtain visas to enter Lebanon has caused consternation and confusion among Syrians as well as in the Lebanese government.

An Israeli soldier looks through binoculars towards the border with Lebanon from above the Israeli town of Metula January 20, 2015. Hezbollah supporters turned out in force on Monday to bury the son of the group's late commander, one of six fighters who died in an Israeli air strike in neighbouring Syria that also killed an Iranian general. Israel has not officially commented on the hit, but an Israeli security source confirmed to Reuters that Israel had carried it out. An Israeli defence official said esca

Hezbollah's three options on Israel

The Lebanese Shiite group has only a few options for responding to the Israeli strike against it in Syria and wants to be careful not to cause an expansion of the conflict onto Lebanese territory.

An Israeli soldier from the Golani brigade takes part in training near the city of Katzrin in the Golan Heights January 19, 2015. An Israeli helicopter strike in Syria killed a commander from Lebanon's Hezbollah and the son of the group's late military leader Imad Moughniyah, Hezbollah said, in a major blow that could lead to reprisal attacks.The strike hit a convoy carrying Jihad Moughniyah and commander Mohamad Issa, known as Abu Issa, in the province of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,

Israel anticipates Hezbollah's reaction

Israeli security experts estimate that although Hezbollah is not interested in raising tensions with Israel, it will respond to the Jan. 18 attack on its convoy, either in the Golan Heights or against Israeli targets abroad.

Syrians stand in a queue to get a visa stamp to enter Lebanon town during their arrival at the Lebanese Masna'a border point in eastern Bekaa, January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3CSS0

New visa regulations confuse Syrians

Syrians in Lebanon who have legal residency permits are worried that new regulations will not protect them from being deported.

A worker puts up a banner of Lebanon's Hezbollah commander Mohamad Issa, known as Abu Issa, in his hometown of Arab-Salim, south Lebanon January 19, 2015. Israeli forces took up positions along the disengagement line with Syria on Monday, a day after an Israeli helicopter strike in Syria killed a commander from Lebanon's Hezbollah and the son of the group's late military leader Imad Moughniyah. The missile strike hit a convoy carrying Jihad Moughniyah and Abu Issa, in the province of Quneitra, near the Isr

How will Hezbollah respond to Israeli strike?

Speculation has arisen as to how Hezbollah will respond following the Israeli raid on its location in Syrian territory, which led to the killing of six of its members.

Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad?

Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a ceremony celebrating the birthday anniversary of Prophet Mohammed in Beirut's southern suburbs, January 9, 2015. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4KQOH

Nasrallah: 'The game is over'

In an interview with pan-Arab news channel Al-Mayadeen, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah talked about sensitive regional issues, mainly the Syrian crisis, saying that "the game is over" there with the failure of hostile plans.

A Lebanese Army soldier stands guard inside a cafe where a suicide bomb attack took place in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli January 11, 2015. At least seven people were killed after a cafe was attacked by a suicide bomber in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Saturday.The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account describing it as revenge for the Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4KW9

Lebanese await outcome of prisoner swap deal

Lebanon has witnessed three interrelated security developments in the past few days that will prove decisive in the prisoner swap deal between the Lebanese government and Jabhat al-Nusra.

A youth switches on a private generator power after general electricity was cut in Jayeh area, south of Beirut September 22, 2011. Lebanon's parliament passed a $1.2 billion bill on Thursday aimed at boosting electricity output after weeks of political discord over how to allocate the funds transparently.
REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: ENERGY BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR2ROJ5

Lebanon’s continued electricity cuts portend disaster

The Lebanese state has yet to secure a continuous electricity supply to its citizens, nearly 20 years after the end of the civil war, which has led to heavy debts and will incur a major disaster in the near future.